A correction on the Exeter fees

In yesterday’s editorial titled “Forwarders withholding fuel surcharges?“, I had relied upon the statements of a very knowledgeable industry expert for the basis of the fees paid by Exeter for fuel surcharges. In doing so, I made some errors in regard to what the named forwarders were paying and for what.

As was disclosed to me this evening by another well respected CEO, the fees described were not fuel surcharge fees. The fees discussed were actually part of a two-tiered fee increase by Exeter. Yes, a fee increase!

Exeter increased their Tier 1 recovery fees by $75 and required the forwarders to pass through a minimum of $57 to the agency.

Tier 2 pays an additional $80 with a minimum of $60 going to the agency.

What gave the appearance of skimming was that MVTrac chose to pay $60 for both tiers. Shame on MVTrac for being so nice! 😊 Yes, I used a smiley face, and without thtreatening to withhold fees.

In addition to this, Exeter pays $25 for fuel surcharges.

So, I would like to extend my genuine apologies to Joseph Farley and the people at Secure Collateral Management, who from what I am told is the fastest paying forwarder in the industry and PAR for wrongly insinuating any wrongdoing on their part. Mea culpa.